History That Doesn't Suck - 77: The Indian Wars (Part 1): The U.S.-Dakota War

Episode Date: November 9, 2020

“To be hanged by the neck until he is dead.” This is the story of the US-Dakota War. The most eastern of the three major Sioux peoples, the Dakota are indigenous to Minnesota. They’ve lived beside trappers, fur traders, and the like, for quite a while (salut, les Canadiens-français). But now, more white settlers are showing up and setting up farms, and American officials are buying lands in exchange for long-term payments. But what happens when those payments are late? Shorted? Meanwhile, traditional hunting grounds are gone. Amid these tensions, four hungry Dakota men on a failed hunt kill two settler families. Other settlers only see a seemingly random act of murder; the Dakota see men pushed beyond their limits. A war ensues. The settlers win quickly but suffer hundreds of deaths in the process. Now questions arise: Are warriors guilty of murder? Are some guilty of massacring? Many Minnesotans say yes to both, and over 300 Dakota men are sentenced to death. Settlers are crying for blood as the final decision to approve or deny these sentences go all the way to the top. It’s your call, President Abraham Lincoln. ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Say it. Alright. Let's save Christmas. There it is. Only in theaters November 15th. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and as in the classroom, my goal here is to make rigorously researched history come to life as your storyteller. Each episode is the result of laborious research with no agenda other than making the past come to life as you learn. If you'd like to help support this work, receive ad-free episodes, bonus content,

and other exclusive perks, I invite you to join the HTDS membership program. Sign up for a seven-day free trial today at htdspodcast.com membership, or click the link in the episode notes. It's around October 1st, 1862. We're in southwestern Minnesota, about 30 to 40 miles east of the relatively young state's border with the Dakota Territory. Countless tents and teepees dot a sprawling prairie. This is Camp Release, and trial is in session.

All right, a little background. In August, war erupted between the Dakota and the settler communities out here on the edge of Minnesota. The two groups couldn't view the conflict more differently. To the Dakota, they took up arms to preserve their ancestral lands and way of life from a treaty-breaking, encroaching United States.

To the settlers, this was an inexplicable killing spree launched on innocent civilians, including women and children. Either way, the war is already winding down. A large number of Dakotas surrendered to Colonel Henry H. Sibley a week or so back, after which the American commander set up his encampment, called Camp Release, right next to the Dakotas camp. The colonel, scratch that, he just got promoted on September 29th. The brigadier general then began holding military court to try hundreds of Dakota men

accused of having committed, quote, murder and outrages upon the white settlers, close quote. We're now on day three of these trials, and Wee Chonkwash Todonpe, or Chaske, as he's also known, is up. Taking the place of the accused in a large tent making dues a courthouse, he stands before the five-man military commission and listens to the charges made against him. Charge. Murder. Specification. In this that said Wee-Chunk-Wash Toh-Don-Pay, a Sioux Indian did

kill George H. Gleeson, a white citizen of the United States, and has likewise committed sundry hostilities against the whites between the said 18th day of August, 1862, and the 28th day of September, 1862. This near the Redwood River and at other places on the Minnesota frontier. Chaskay is terrified. Speaking limited English, he looks to the part-white, part-native interpreter, or mixed blood, to use the parlance of the era, for an explanation of the charges. They are just what Chaske expected. He's ready for this.

Chaske now reads his prepared statement as best as he can in his second language. I imagine him reading his carefully written, if slightly awkwardly worded statement in a stilted, struggling cadence. I plead not guilty of murder. The other Indian shot Gleason, and as he was falling over, I aimed my gun at him but did not fire. I have had a white woman in charge, but I could not take as good care of her as a white man because I am an Indian. I kept her with the intention of giving her up. Don't know of any

other bad act since Gleason was murdered. I aimed at him because I was told I must kill the whites to save myself. I have been in three battles. I have not fired at any other white man. I wanted to prevent the other Indian from shooting. I prevented him from killing the woman and children with Gleason. Damn, that's a different narrative than the charge. Did Chaskay actually save rather than take lives in this war? The woman he claims to have saved, Sarah Wakefield, is here too. Sworn in on a Bible, she proceeds to corroborate Chaskay's story. I was with Mr. Gleason when he was killed.

Myself and two children were riding with him. There were two in the party who attacked us. The other man shot Mr. Gleason. This man, Chaskay, tended to the horses. When the shots were fired, the horses ran, and he caught them. When Mr. Gleason was on his death agony, this Indian snapped his gun at him. He afterwards told me it was to put him out of his misery. I saw this Indian endeavor to prevent the other Indian from firing at me.

He raised his gun twice to do it. He said he did not go into this thing willingly. Joe Reynolds knows him very well and considers him a fine man. He is a farmer Indian and spells a little. When we got in, he took me from a teepee where it was cold with my babes to one where there was a white woman. Since then, he has saved my life three times. They are very poor, he and his family. They have had to beg rituals for me and he has given his coffee and food to my children and gone without himself. He is a very generous man. Okay, no contradictions. Both Chaskay and Sarah agree that he saved her

life and although raising his gun at George Gleeson, probably for a mercy shot, Chaskay didn't shoot him. It was the quote unquote, other Indian, Chaskay's brother-in-law that killed the settler. Will this version of events hold up to the last testimony? Let's see what Angus Robertson, who was a captive of the Dakota during the war,

has to say. I heard the prisoner say before Mrs. Wakefield that he fired the second shot. He said his brother-in-law wanted to kill Mrs. Wakefield and her children, but he prevented it. He said his shot didn't kill Gleason. This Indian is a very good Indian. His conduct has been uniformly good towards Mrs. Wakefield and her children. With that final, character-affirming testimony, everyone, save the commission, exits the tent so its five members can deliberate. They heard consistently that Chaskay is a good man,

that he saved lives. Sounds like he definitely aimed his gun at George Gleeson at one point, but whether he discharged it is murky. Even still, everyone agrees Chastkay didn't kill the settler. How will the commission rule? The judgment is swift. Guilty of the specification.

Guilty of the charge. To be hanged by the neck until he is dead. Between September 28th and November 3rd, 1862, the five-man military commission tries 392 Dakotas. The commission flies through the cases, moving through as many as 42 in 24 hours. Sometimes the charges include robbery, rape, or murder, but often, they are as simple as being a Dakota soldier in this war. With that as the standard, the commission finds 323 of them guilty. It condemns a staggering 303 to death. Will the U.S. military really execute en masse over 300 men? Well, the Military Act of 1862 requires one last approval for these death sentences.

That means the lives of Chaskay and his fellow condemned Dakotas now rest in the hands of a single final arbiter, the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story. Today, we begin another short series of episodes, the Indian Wars. We've talked about aspects of indigenous history in past episodes, but as we head west in mid-19th century America, it's time to dive deeper. To start, I'm going to give you something of a primer. It'll include some refreshers on material we've discussed as well as other details on ground

we haven't previously covered. But after that, we'll come back to Minnesota in 1862 and find out what happens to these 303 condemned men. That means learning how the Dakota War started, how it played out, and then how these trials end. I'm striving to give you the Dakota and settler perspectives throughout, but as we end this war, I'll pause to make sure we digest both perspectives and understand the war's ramifications. I know, from Reconstruction to Indian Wars. We're going from one heavy topic to another heavy topic.

These aren't easy stories to hear. They aren't easy stories to tell, but they're crucial. So with that, let's head back to the 1790s and work our way forward. Rewind. When George Washington becomes president in 1789, he publicly states, quote, The government of the United States are determined that their administration of Indian affairs

shall be directed entirely by the great principles of justice and humanity. Close quote. But this is going to be hard to achieve. Yes, the Constitution gives George, as president, and Congress the right to make treaties with American Indian tribes. Article 1, Section 8 states that Congress has power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states and with the Indian tribes.

But try telling that to the rapidly growing white American populace. Quick note, I'll refer to these Anglo-American settlers as white settlers throughout the episode. Yes, there are a few black settlers, but free blacks are, by and large, kept out of the westward expansion of the United States by circumstances and by law. So for simplicity's sake, I'll use a term that describes

the vast majority of settlers' identity. Okay, that said, back to George's problem. When white settlers illegally quote-unquote purchase or just outright claim lands which, according to treaties, belong to Native tribes, there's little that George can do. There aren't strong laws to enforce the land boundaries. So the president sends in what American armed forces he can. But those soldiers end up protecting white settlers from Native American defensive raids instead of upholding the treaties and defending the outlined land boundaries

between the U.S. and tribal land. A few politicians want to try another approach. In 1789, revolutionary war hero turned Secretary of War Henry Knox tells George, In examining the question how the disturbances on the frontier are to be quieted, two modes present themselves. The first of which is by raising an army and extirpating the refractory tribes entirely. Or secondly, by forming treaties of peace with them, in which their rights and

limits should be explicitly defined and the treaties observed on the part of the United States with the most rigid justice by punishing the whites who should violate the same. But it's not that cut and dry. Even if United States Indian commissioners make treaties, and not all tribes are sufficiently represented at the negotiating table. And so, white cellar encroachment, and of course, skirmishes and raids, continue. In 1791, Indian Commissioner Timothy Pickering tells George that, quote, Indians have been so often deceived by white people that white man is among many of them but another name for liar. Close quote. Timothy and leaders of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy want to work out a deal to establish peace and trust.

Back in the Revolutionary War, some members of this confederacy, including Mohawk chief John Deseronto, sided with the British. When the war ended, that left tense relations between the Iroquois Confederacy and the U.S. government. In October 1794, over 1,500 Indians arrive in Canandaigua, New York, including chiefs from the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Mohawk, and Tuscarora tribes. They work out a treaty with federal representatives, using Quakers as English translators when needed. The talks get off to a rocky start. Cultural differences are at the heart of the problems. treaty with federal representatives, using Quakers as English translators when needed.

The talks get off to a rocky start. Cultural differences are at the heart of the problems. The six nations include women in their decisions, and many women tribal leaders have joined the negotiating team. Timothy and his crew, all men, don't know what to make of this. The Indians also believe that relationships between nations must be maintained by polishing the tarnish that accumulates on the chain of friendship, as they put it. Timothy has to figure out a way to put that in the treaty. After a few weeks of negotiations, the Treaty of Canandaigua is complete. It returns land the tribes previously ceded. It also assures the six nations that their current lands, quote, shall remain undisturbed, close quote

and it pays for territory already stolen that is, land now occupied by white settlers and thus not on the table for return with a 4,500 annuity to be paid and I quote, forever While most terms of this treaty will eventually be broken the annuity is still paid in the form of cloth to the people of the six nations, even in the 21st century. But one treaty,

no matter how equitable and strong it is, will not keep Anglo-Americans from pushing west. In fact, while the negotiations for the Treaty of Canandaigua are going on, U.S. soldiers under the leadership of General Matt Anthony Wayne beat Shawnee and Miami warriors at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in modern-day Ohio. In Philadelphia, the president seems to give up trying to contain white Americans. In 1796, George Washington writes, I believe scarcely anything short of a Chinese wall or a line of troops will restrain land jobbers and the encroachment of settlers upon the Indian territory. And this leads to conflict. A lot of conflict. I can't tell you

about every incident of violence and disagreement between white settlers and American Indians, so let me give you a sample of some of the wars you should probably know. Napoleon Bonaparte rose from obscurity to become the most powerful and significant figure in modern history. Over 200 years after his death, people are still debating his legacy. He was a man of contradictions, a tyrant and a reformer, a liberator and an oppressor, a revolutionary and a reactionary. His biography reads like a novel, and his influence is almost beyond measure. I'm Everett Rummage, host of the Age of Napoleon podcast, and every month I delve into the turbulent life and times of one of the greatest characters in history, and explore the world that shaped him in all its glory and tragedy. It's a story of great battles

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And why do so many more kids need glasses now than they used to? Spoiler alert, it isn't screen time. Our team of scientists digs into the research and breaks it down into a short, entertaining explanation, jam-packed with science facts and terrible puns. Subscribe to MinuteEarth wherever you like to listen. It's July 12, 1804, in Washington, D.C. 22 Osage leaders stand in a room at the newly completed White House. These men, many of whom are over six feet tall, are seasoned negotiators, and right now, they are waiting for a meeting with President Thomas Jefferson.

The U.S. president has recently purchased a huge tract of land, most of it controlled by the Osage people, from First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte. This transfer of title is known as the Louisiana Purchase, and if you want more details on it, check out episode 21. The purchase has forced the Osage to deal with yet another foreign nation that wants to control their land. The Osage are pretty good yet another foreign nation that wants to control their land.

The Osage are pretty good at dealing with European nations, having successfully negotiated land and trade deals with France and Spain. But now, they'll deal with the United States. So these Indian leaders have come to talk with Tommy. When the red-haired president walks into the room, he addresses his guests with his prepared speech. I receive you with great pleasure at the seat of the government of the 17 United Nations, Tommy says, referring to the 17 states that currently make up the United States.

The Osage men listen as Tommy continues. You have come through a land of friends, all of whom, I hope, have looked on you kindly. You are under the roof of your fathers and best friends, who will spare nothing for your refreshment and comfort. We will now open the bottoms of our hearts more fully to one another and consider how we may best secure everlasting peace, friendship, and commerce between the Osage nation and the 17 United Nations. After this formal speech, the president and the Osage leaders work out an informal arrangement for the tribe to retain control of their cultural lands. But it won't last. Only four years later, the 1808 Treaty of Fort Clark will force the Osage,

along with the Iowa, Missouri, Sac and Fox, Kickapoo, Shawnee, and Delaware tribes to seed 52 million acres of land. As a part of the deal, Tommy Jay pays money and supplies weapons to Osage enemies and encourages them to attack Osage villages. As a result, the Osage will cede lands for the next two decades, ending up on a small reservation in Kansas by 1830. In this same time period, Shawnee Chief Tecumseh is fighting to maintain his tribe's land in modern-day Ohio and Indiana. Tecumseh has been fighting white settlers most of his life, and by the early 19th century, his parents and older brothers have been killed by white soldiers and settlers. These losses have spurred Tecumseh to unite with other tribes and defend their land. He refuses to sign treaties like the 1795 Treaty of Greenville or take payment

for land, boldly stating, sell a country? Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children? Tecumseh uses the War of 1812 between the U.S. and British to his advantage. If you want to know more about that war, listen to episodes 23 through 26. And try episode 24 to get specific details on Tecumseh's movement. The Shawnee warrior allies himself with the British in the fight, but they prove to be less than loyal friends. At the Battle of the Thames in 1813, Tecumseh and 500 soldiers fight along with 800 British troops. When William Henry Harrison and his 3,500-strong American army attack, the Brits lose their nerve and either retreat or surrender, leaving the Shawnee warriors to fend for themselves. Tecumseh is killed in the fight. His untimely death leads to the dissolution

of the strong tribal alliance he has created, and white settlers again advance into Indian territory. Violence between white settlers and Native American tribes continues. In Washington, D.C., a few politicians decide to try some different approaches to dealing with tribes and their leaders. First, in 1819, Congress passes the Indian Civilization Fund Act. This bill allots $10,000 for schools in Indian territories or reservations. It's the first formal partnership between the government and Christian missionaries to, as the name suggests, quote-unquote, civilize and assimilate American Indians.

Second, in 1823, the Supreme Court rules in the case Johnson v. McIntosh that Indians have rights to their lands because of preexisting use. However, that right has limits. The ruling also states that Indians may only sell their land to the US government, curtailing their ability to control their own land.

Third and finally, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun creates the Office of Indian Affairs within his own department and without congressional sanction. John never was one to respect the federal chain of command. Anyway, this new department basically has the job of making treaties with American Indian tribes after the U.S. Army has defeated them. In 1849, Congress will move the Bureau to the Department of the Interior with a charge to administer, quote, the fund for the civilization of the Indians, close quote, that you just heard about.

These policies benefit white America's manifest destiny interests with little consideration for tribal rights. No wonder the conflict between the expanding white American population and Native Americans continues. In the summer of 1827, near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, the Winnebago Indians are frustrated. This tribe of miners and traders

have enjoyed good relations with the French, the British, and now Americans for decades. The Winnebago mine led near the Mississippi River and make a lucrative living selling it to Americans. But for the past 20 years, Americans have been breaking treaties and horning in on Winnebago mining grounds. Respected warrior Redbird gets pressured into action

when a few people tell him, quote, if he had the spirit to avenge the wrongs of his people, he could, by going to the prairie, get as much meat as he could bring home, close quote. On June 26th, Redbird attacks a farmer and his family, killing two people. A few days later, the Winnebago warrior and his band of followers attack a flotilla of keelboats on the Bad Axe River, a tributary of the Mississippi, killing two Americans. These brutal assaults get the attention of military and government

leaders in Wisconsin. In August, U.S. military and political leaders meet with the Winnebago Chiefs. Louis Cass, the governor of Michigan Territory, tells Winnebago Chief Fourlegs, We must have blood for blood. The next month, Redbird, dressed in fringed white buckskin robes and with his face painted red, green, and white, turns himself over to American authorities. Though his actions were justifiable under Winnebago law, Redbird knows he must surrender to U.S. authorities to save his people from war. He'll die in prison next year, while American settlers completely displace his people from their rightful lands.

Simultaneous to the problems in Wisconsin, there's conflict in the southern United States. Here, Creek Indians have been involved in a civil war going back a few decades. Basically, the Creek are divided into two groups. One that wants to make treaties and cede territory to the U.S. in order to avoid war, and one that wants to fight to maintain ancestral land holdings. In Alabama and Georgia, this infighting gives white land speculators a bigger chance to cheat Creeks out of their lands. And the Creeks aren't going to get any federal help. In his 1828 State of the Union Address to Congress, President John Quincy Adams advocates a policy of removal.

When we have had the rare good fortune of teaching the Indian tribes the arts of civilization and the doctrines of Christianity, we have unexpectedly found them forming in the midst of ourselves communities claiming to be independent of ours and rivals of sovereignty in the midst of ourselves communities claiming to be independent of ours and rivals of sovereignty within the territories of the members of our union. This state of things requires that a remedy should be provided, a remedy which, while it shall do justice to those unfortunate children of nature, may secure to the members of our confederation the right of sovereignty and of soil. In other words,

the Indians will need to move to make way for white settlement and American manifest destiny. This presidential endorsement and the conflicts with Indians on lands which white Americans want to own lead directly to the Indian Removal Act of 1830. But the Indian removal policy does not quell American Indians

versus white settler violence. The Black Hawk War in 1832 is just one example of that continued conflict and bloodshed. Blackhawk, a Sac and Fox Indian warrior, disagreed with two treaties which ceded all of his tribe's lands east of the Mississippi River. To put Blackhawk in his place, the U.S. called up 7,000 troops. One of those soldiers is a 23-year-old, lanky, dark-haired man named Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln won't see any action in this fight. He'll later jokingly compare his militia experience to another politician's. If he saw any live fighting Indians, it was more than I

did. But I had a good many blood struggles with the mosquitoes. And although I never fainted from loss of blood, I can truly say I was often very hungry. While Lincoln's jesting shows how little he was involved with or impacted by the warfare, that doesn't reflect the devastating effects of the U.S. assaults on Black Hawk's 1,500 followers, most of whom are women and children. After many skirmishes and several instances

where Black Hawk outsmarts his foes, the Army catches up with the Sack and Fox at the Bad Axe River on August 1, 1832. A brutal battle ensues, with Sack and Fox warriors trying to protect their families and buy them time to escape. Many women and children drown swimming across the river. Many are also shot as they try to get away from U.S. soldiers. Only 200 of Black Hawk's followers survive the battle, and Black Hawk is eventually taken prisoner. The U.S. Army often enlists help as it fights against Indian tribes.

Native tribes have their own history and conflicts with each other, and U.S. military leaders exploit that. You heard about the French and British doing the same thing in the French and Indian War and in the War of 1812. The Seminole Wars in Florida and Georgia are just one example of the United States pitting one native tribe against another. The First Seminole War from 1816 to 1819 saw then-General Andrew Jackson align with White Stick Creeks in his fight against Seminoles in Florida. That war resulted in Spain selling Florida to the U.S., but it didn't intimidate the Seminoles into bowing to American authority. So, in the 1830s, despite Indian removal policies and other tribes around them splintering,

the Seminoles are still fighting for their lands. In 1835, now President Andrew Jackson sends troops to Florida to oust the Seminoles. It takes seven years, 40 million dollars, and 400 dead U.S. soldiers to get most but not all Seminoles to move to Oklahoma. And so, the Seminoles join the Creeks and Cherokee in the forced march west. Now, I told you about this march, known as the Trail of Tears, back in episode 28. That episode has a lot of detail about forced Cherokee removal and Andrew Jackson's role in it. But I did skip over a couple pieces of the story that I think you'll want to know about, Major John Ridge and the Treaty of New Echota.

In 1835, Cherokee leader John Ridge meets with U.S. officials to work out a deal. The treaty gives the Cherokees $5 million in cash and a land grant in far-off Oklahoma in exchange for 7 million acres of land the tribe holds in northern Georgia and Alabama. This deal has several problems, not the least of which is that John Ridge doesn't speak for the whole tribe. In fact, after the treaty is signed, 15,000 Cherokees sign a petition protesting it. But the Senate ratifies the treaty in 1836 anyway. John and about 2,000 Cherokees moved to Oklahoma voluntarily that year. The rest of the tribe are forced to move in the winter of 1838. Again, if you'd like to hear more details about this harrowing, deadly experience, listen to episode 28.

All I'll say here is that out of the over 16,000 Cherokee who make the journey, between 2,000 and 6,000 die along the way. One soldier who participated in the removal will later recall, I fought through the war between the states and have seen many men shot, but the Cherokee removal was the cruelest work I ever knew. Once in Oklahoma, the Cherokee who made the Treaty of New Enchota become the targets of the rest of the tribe. John Ridge gets assassinated for the part he played. An historian, Anton Tru Truer asserts, quote,

the Cherokee nation rebuilt itself, but always in spite of the U.S. government rather than because of it. And the bitter legacy of 1838 still burns in the minds of the Cherokee people today. Close quote. As you heard a little in episodes 30 and 31 on the Oregon and California trails, white westward expansion fueled by Manifest Destiny leads to more conflict in the far west.

Since Indian wars weren't the focus of those episodes, let me give you more details on those now. In 1851, the Bureau of Indian Affairs hires former mountain man Tom Fitzpatrick as an Indian agent in modern day Wyoming and Colorado. It's a huge job. The bigwigs in Washington, D.C. want Tom to work to prevent conflict between white settlers and Indians, prevent conflict between warring indigenous tribes, negotiate Indian land claims into U.S. government hands, and distribute any payments honestly and promptly. That is quite the list of job duties. But Tom's up for the challenge. First, Tom works out a deal with 10,000 Northern Plains Indians from several tribes known as the Fort Laramie Treaty. Two years later, in 1853,

Tom hammers out the Treaty of Fort Atkinson with Southern Plains tribes. Both agreements specify fixed land boundaries for each tribe and require that Indian tribes not fight with each other. The deal also promises 50 years of annuities for the land the tribes relinquished. Even if the tribal leaders understood these terms, which they probably didn't, the Senate slashes those payments to 10 years. And when gold is discovered near modern-day Denver, eager white prospectors throw the restrictive-to-them land boundaries outlined in the treaties out the window. At least the Plains tribes had ratified treaties in their hands for a few years. Indigenous tribes in California

aren't that lucky. Here's the thing. White settlers do make treaties with native tribes living in the fertile valleys of California. These 18 agreements give Indians land on reservations, cede the remaining lands to white settlers, and promise to pay Indians for their former lands. But when the treaties show up on the Senate agenda for ratification in 1852, there's a problem. The U.S. acquired California in the Mexican-American War, and when that transfer of land from Mexico to the U.S. happened, no one bothered to find out if Mexico legally recognized the land claims of Native Americans. If it did, then the Senate could

now ratify these new treaties between Americans and indigenous peoples. But if Mexico never recognized Indian land rights, then all the territory just went straight to U.S. federal control and the Senate had no reason to pay for it or even offer the Indians reserved lands. And that's the course the Senate decides to take. All 18 treaties go unratified. Indians in California don't receive any annuities and there are only two reservations in all of California, not nearly enough to support the native population. Oof. Covering 80 years of U.S. slash American-Indian interactions is heavy and heartbreaking.

It's a lot to digest. And I've left out plenty, like the Comanche Wars in Texas that raged from 1836 to 1875, or the Third Seminole War in Florida in the 1850s, after which even more Seminoles are uprooted from their homes to make room for expanding white populations. Across the conflicts that I have told you about, there are a few things to unpack. So before I dive into the history of the Dakota War, which leads to the trial you heard about at the beginning of this episode, let's pause, breathe, and take in a few overarching themes. Across the 19th century, the U.S. solidifies its policies of Indian removal and reservations. The Trail of Tears is probably the most memorable

enforcement of these policies, but it's part of a larger pattern of moving tribes from their ancestral lands onto smaller areas that are less desirable. And in 1862, this policy comes into play even more. That year, Congress passes the Homestead Act, which allows white settlers to cheaply purchase land west of the Mississippi by living on the land for five years. As you've heard, Indian agents work out numerous treaties with native tribes as white settlers encroach on indigenous lands. But there are a few key takeaways I want to give you about these agreements. One, treaties usually aren't agreed upon or recognized by an entire tribe. The Treaty of New Echota in 1835 is the norm, not an outlier. Two, even fair treaties with clearly outlined terms are rarely

honored in their entirety, as you heard with Winnebago and their lead mining land claims. And three, treaties do almost nothing to stem the violence and bloodshed between white settlers and Indians. But 19th century Americans aren't blind to what's going on here. As Lieutenant Britton Davis, a U.S. soldier serving out west, states, quote, we have heard much talk of the treachery of the Indian. In treachery, broken pledges on the part of high officials, lies, thievery, slaughter of defenseless women and children, and every drive in the catalog of man's inhumanity to man, the Indian was a mere amateur compared to the noble white man. Close quote. Damn, Britain's not pulling any punches. Now that I've given you a bird's eye view of the Indian wars over the last several decades, let's zoom in on the Dakota. The Dakota are one of three dialect groups that make up the Sioux Indians.

That name, Sioux, is actually what their rivals, the Ojibwe, call them. But European explorers adopted the name and it stuck. So, Sioux cover three groups, the Dakotas, the Nakotas, and the Lakotas. But since this is brand new information, I assume, for many of you, I won't overwhelm you with those details today. By the 1800s, the Dakotas lived near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, which they called Bedote, the birthplace of their people. The powerful expert horseman Lakota lived farther west

in the forested Black Hills on the high plains. In 1819, the U.S. Army showed up in Dakota Territory and built Fort Snelling on what they thought was a great spot, the high ground on the west banks of the Mississippi River. You and I know this spot as St. Paul, Minnesota. To the Dakota, it's Bedote and the soldiers had committed a sacrilege. But the Dakota have plenty of enemies in the area, like the Ojibwe, the Cree, and the Sac and Fox. The farming Dakota tried to make friends with the rapidly expanding white population moving into this fertile country by trading with whites,

especially for guns. In 1851, the Dakota signed the Treaty of Mendota and the Treaty of Traverse de Sioux, both of which ceded huge swaths of tribal farmlands to white Americans. Dakotas struggled to survive on their reduced lands and tensions rise with neighboring white farmers. In 1858, Dakota Chief Mankato sells almost all the Dakota lands on the banks of the Minnesota River. He hopes that the cash and food annuities will support his people as they try to transition to a new way of life in a new area. But the Civil War and inefficient government delay the payments. Without cash, Dakotas can't buy food. They can't even get credit since many store owners know the annuities probably aren't coming. By 1862, the government owes the tribe $71,000 and Dakotas are starving.

An unsympathetic white settler and store owner, Andrew Myrick says, if they are hungry, let them eat grass or their own dung. This is the dire situation in 1862, and it's a powder keg that will only need one small spark to ignite. When Johann Rall received the letter on Christmas Day 1776, he put it away to read later. Maybe he thought it was a season's greeting and wanted to save it for the fireside. But what it actually was, was a warning, delivered to the Hessian colonel, letting him know that General George Washington was crossing the Delaware and would soon attack his forces. The next day, when Raw lost the Battle of Trenton and died from two colonial Boxing Day musket balls, the letter was found, unopened in his vest pocket. As someone with 15,000 unread emails in his inbox, I feel

like there's a lesson there. Oh, well, this is The Constant, a history of getting things wrong. I'm Mark Chrysler. Every episode, we look at the bad ideas, mistakes, and accidents that misshaped our world. Find us at ConstantPodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Was the Sphinx 10,000 years old? Were there serial killers in ancient Greece and Rome? What were the lives of transgender, intersex, and non-binary people like in the ancient world? We're Jen.

And Jenny. From Ancient History Fangirl. We tell you true stories and tall tales of the ancient world. Sometimes we do it tipsy. Sometimes we have amazing guests on our show. Historians like Barry Strauss, podcasters like Liv Albert, Mike Duncan, and authors like Joanne Harris and Ben Aronovich. We take you to the top of Hadrian's Wall to watch the Roman Empire fall at the end of the world.

We walk the catacombs beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent under Teotihuacan. We walk the sacred spirals of the Nazca Lines in search of ancient secrets. And we explore mythology from ancient cultures around the world. Come find us at ancienthistoryfangirl.com or wherever you get your podcasts. It's late in the morning, August 17, 1862. Four Dakota men are traveling near Acton, Minnesota. They've been hunting in the nearby, inaptly named, Big Woods Forest. But they've been unsuccessful thus far. That means they're hungry. And as they walk, they're drinking whiskey. And as that hard liquor hits their stomachs, let's not forget

they're carrying firearms. In other words, this hunting party is not in a condition that leads to good choices. They continue on, soon approaching a settler's house. The four men notice a hen's nest by a fence full of eggs. Oh, they look delicious to these famished hunters. One of them grabs an egg. Don't take them, for they belong to a white man and we may get in trouble, one of his hunting companions cautions. You are a coward, the man with the egg answers as he throws his would-be meal to the ground,

shattering its fragile shell. He now taunts his cautious friend. You are afraid of the white man. You are afraid to take even an egg from him, though you are half starved. Yes, you are a coward, and I will tell everybody so. I'm not a coward, the other counters. I'm not afraid of the white man, and to show you that I am not, I will go up to the house and

shoot him. Are you brave enough to go with me? Yes, the first replies. He then accepts the challenge given to him in this quickly escalating contest of manhood, and we will see who is the braver of the two. I can't tell you exactly how the next few minutes play out. Dakota leader Big Eagle, whose secondhand record provides the narrative I just gave you, will provide one version, while the survivors will each provide slightly different accounts. Nonetheless, all Dakota and settler accounts agree that these

four Dakota men kill five members of the Jones and Baker families. Three men, one woman, and one girl, generally said to be 14 or 15 years old. Aware of the seriousness of what they've done, the four then steal a team of horses and a wagon from an altogether different settler family and ride hard for hours making the way back to Rice Creek Village. Arriving that night one of them allegedly exclaims

get your guns there is a war with the whites and we have begun it. Now obviously a war hasn't begun. But faced with what these four men did today, many of the Dakota will quickly agree. Experience has taught them that they as a people will always pay for the sins of the few. Money that is needed to survive and rightfully due to them by treaty for selling their lands will, they are sure, be withheld.

Maybe worse? Their chief, Red Middle Voice, and the village in general are of the same mind as the four hunters. It's time for war. They travel to other Dakota villages that same night, their numbers growing with every stop. But the final decision on whether or not this group wages war falls on the shoulders of one particular leader in a village near where Redwood River flows into the larger Minnesota River. This is Little Crow. A seasoned leader and diplomat, Little Crow has proven his bravery

and made his fair share of difficult decisions over the years. When his father died and his younger half-brothers challenged him as successor by threatening his life, he stood before them in public, arms crossed, and dared them to act on their threat. Shoot then, where all can see, he said. They did.

The bullet passed through both of his forearms and did permanent damage, forever limiting the use of his hands. But Little Crow had proven his bravery and secured his leadership. As a leader, Little Crow helped negotiate and sign treaties with the United States in 1851 and 1858. These weren't easy tasks, and his gift for understanding the American mindset came in handy. And now, on this early morning, August 18, 1862, the four hunters and the sizable Dakota army that has grown around them since last night have come to Little Crow's home seeking his blessing to wage

war. The reasons they give for war aren't just an attempt to get ahead of the extensive retribution they are sure the United States will bring upon them for yesterday's killings. For these Dakota, this is a war to set things right, to get revenge for years of underhanded dealings and broken treaties, like cash payments for their duly sold lands coming late, short-changed, or with demands of even further concessions. They say they want to drive the settlers

off their ancestral lands, to reclaim their way of life. And with all the white men who've left to fight in the Civil War, they see this as their chance. Maybe their last chance. claimed their way of life. And with all the white men who've left to fight in the Civil War, they see this as their chance. Maybe their last chance. They're ready to fight against settlers and any assimilated Indians that oppose them. Kill the whites and kill all these cut hairs who will not join us, some call out. Little Crow doesn't jump on this the way they'd like. As his traditional long hair mixed with Western-style dress reflects,

he's a man who understands both worlds. He gets where they're coming from, but he's also been to Washington, D.C. And he's seen the raw power of the United States. Little Crow doubts the Civil War is creating the window of opportunity these young, eager men think it is. And for the record, he's not alone in his doubts. At least three others, including one of my sources, Big Eagle, wants this group to cool its jets. Further, this is just that, a single group. Don't mistake them for speaking for all of the Dakota. But then, someone calls Little Crow a coward. Whether it's a

response to his own dwindling influence among his people, or being the same man who once stood still while being shot at, he won't let his manhood or courage be doubted. He gives a fiery speech, recounting all the reasons war will fail, but in the end, pronounces, The whites are like the locusts when they fly so thick that the whole sky is a snowstorm. You may kill one, two, ten, yes, as many as the leaves in the forest yonder. Ten times ten they will come to kill you.

Braves, you are all little children. You are fools. You will die like the rabbits when the hungry wolves hunt them in the hard moon. Te Oya Te Duta is not a coward. He will die with you. This hastily assembled Dakota Army begins its offensive later that same day,

August 18th, 1862. And personal relationships quickly proved to have life and death ramifications. For instance, when some Dakota fighters come to a store at the Redwood or Lower Agency, they spare mixed-blood brothers, Antoine and Baptiste Campbell, for the sake of the two men's father. Meanwhile, these fighters might take some relish in killing the Campbell brothers' employer, Andrew Myrick. Ah, you might recall my mentioning him earlier. He's the one who said the starving Dakota could eat grass.

His dead body is later found with a scythe stuck through it and, if we believe Big Eagle's much later testimony that isn't corroborated by other accounts, with grass shoved in his mouth. By about six that evening, Sarah Wakefield is traveling with George Gleason. Sarah's husband, John, is a physician at the Upper Agency. As word of Indian raids reached them earlier in the day, he asked George to take Sarah to the safety of Fort Ridgely. With them are Sarah's two small children, James and Nellie. Approaching the home of the Reynolds family,

they see two Dakota men. Sarah's scared. She notes their guns. George thinks nothing of it. Oh, only boys going hunting, he says while reining in the horses. The first shot hits George in the shoulder, the second in the gut, and it puts him on the ground.

Oh my God, Mrs. Wakefield! George exclaims. Sarah locks eyes with the Dakota man who did not shoot. Short hair, collared shirt. She recognizes him. It's a farmer named Chaskay. He walks over to George. It's clear the man's as good as dead. Chaskay aims at the mortally wounded driver's head to deliver a mercy shot. His gun fails. Chaskay's companion and brother-in-law, Hoppa, now shoots George for a third and final time. Hoppa then takes aim at Sarah. I'll let her narrate what happens next. In a moment after poor Gleason breathed his last, Hoppa stepped up to the wagon and taking aim at my head would have killed me but for Chaskay, who leaped towards him and struck the gun out of his

hands. I begged Hoppa to spare me. I thought then my doom was sealed. And if it had not been for Chaskay, my bones would now be bleaching on the prairie and my children with little crow. Three or four times did this demon try to destroy me, when Chaskay would draw him away with his arm, and I could hear him tell him some little act of kindness my husband or myself had shown them in years gone by. But all Hoppa would say was, she must die, all whites are bad, better be dead. I think those men disputed about me nearly an hour, Chaske trying every inducement to influence him in my favor. Over the course of the next six weeks,

Sarah, her children, and a few hundred other white settlers live as prisoners of the Dakota Army. Chas Kay looks out for Sarah and her kids the whole time. He ensures their safety and well-being right up until he and over a thousand other Dakotas surrender to Colonel Henry Sibley and hand over their prisoners on September 26th. But the colonel might be less interested in peace and more in his own sense of justice. Casualty counts are disputed, but settlers and

the U.S. military killed between 75 and 100 Dakota soldiers, while Dakota killed between 600 and 1,000 whites. About 125 of those deaths were soldiers and armed civilians. The rest were unarmed civilians, including an estimated 150 or so being children, aged 10 or younger. So the colonel, soon promoted to general, promptly tries 392 POWs in his own makeshift military court at Camp Release. And as you know from today's opening, it condemns 303 men, including Sarah Wakefield's savior, Chaskay, to death. Like Chaskay, most of them are only guilty of being a part of the Dakota Army. Will the executions proceed as planned? The decision now falls to President Lincoln. Lincoln's mind wasn't on Minnesota as the Dakota War raged through August and September.

It was on the very survival of the United States. Less than a week after the Dakotas' August 23rd attack at New Ulm, Minnesota, Confederate General Robert E. Lee and three of his rock star commanders, all of whom we know quite well, Jeb Stuart, James Old Pete Longstreet, and Thomas Stonewall Jackson, sent U.S. General John Pope and his men running with their tails between their legs at the Battle of Second Bull Run slash Second Manassas. Emboldened, Bobby Lee then took the fight to Union turf. Now, U.S. General George McClellan won when their armies clashed by Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17th. But as you might recall from my telling you in episode 52,

the win was more of a technicality. With over 20,000 casualties, Antietam will go down as the bloodiest day ever in American history. It did, however, give Lincoln the political opening needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which he did on September 22nd. For point of reference, this is only one day before the Dakota Army's last major stand at the Battle of Wood Lake. It's now mid-October. General John Pope, who, after botching it at Second Bull Run, was sent to take over the new Minnesota-including Military Department of the Northwest, sends a report on the rapidly moving Dakota POW trials to D.C. Lincoln's cabinet hears the report during an October 14th meeting. Only about a third of the almost 400 Dakotas being tried have been at this point, but the president is alarmed. Ensuring the

recently passed military act is followed, he sends orders back that no executions be made without his sanction. Very well. When the trials end in early November, John Pope sends the list of the 303 men meant to die to Lincoln. The president's response frustrates the general and other leaders in Minnesota. Rather than rubber stamp it, Lincoln requests that John please forward as soon as possible

the full and complete record of their convictions. John does so, but urges the president to permit the executions, writing, quote, the only distinction between the culprits is as to which of them murdered most people or violated most young girls.

Close quote. He also warns that the settlers of Minnesota want revenge. If Lincoln doesn't allow the executions, John says it will be, quote, nearly impossible to prevent the indiscriminate massacre of all the Indians, close quote. The governor agrees. He asserts that if 303 men are not executed, to quote him, private revenge would on all this border take the place of official judgment on these Indians. They may well be right.

A mob pelts the condemned, shackled Dakotans with bricks as they are moved from Camp Release to the town of Mankato. On December 4th, a hatchet and knife-wielding mob of several hundred attempt to attack the men at their new prison. Still others see all of this anger toward the Indians as an opportunity to drive the peaceful Chippewas from the state. Good God.

What a nightmare. But Lincoln, who is famously cautious with the death penalty, refuses to bow to Minnesotan vigilantism. He carefully pours over the trial records. famously cautious with the death penalty, refuses to bow to Minnesotan vigilantism. He carefully pours over the trial records. Remember how John Pope said one of the only two differences between these men was which of them had violated the most young girls? Lincoln finds that only two of the 303 men condemned to death were found guilty of rape. And remember how John's other distinguishing factor wasn't if they murdered,

but simply how much? The rail splitter notices that only 40 of the 303 were found guilty of massacring as opposed to participating in the war. This is where Lincoln draws the line. Since both the men convicted of rape number among these 40, and the military commission recommended that one of the 40 receive clemency, a formerly enslaved black man married to a Dakota woman named Joseph Godfrey, Lincoln ultimately confirms only 39 of the death sentences. Among the 264 to be spared the noose is Sarah Wakefield's protector, the farmer Chaskay. Knowing the smallest error could send the wrong man to the gallows, the president writes out each of the 39 names and their corresponding trial numbers himself.

He likewise cautions his telegraph operator not to make any mistakes. But someone will. It's Monday, December 22, 1862. Former Indian agent Joseph B. Brown stands before the 303 prisoners who still have no idea Lincoln has commuted the death sentence of 264 of them. Without telling them why, only that they need to stand if called on, he reads off 39 names. Chaz K. Don, he allegedly calls out at some point. But did he? Or did he just say Chas K.? Because somehow, Chas K. Don,

a man condemned for slicing open a pregnant woman, is left with the 264. Sarah Wakefield's protector, Chas K., is lumped in with the 39. And honestly, I can't tell you if this is an error. When Sarah learns about this later, she'll call it an act of foul play. At and before his trial, soldiers more or less promised her they'd ensure Chaskay would hang. Some have speculated that Sarah and Chaskay had a romantic entanglement. Are local officials now manipulating the list under the guise of an accident to kill

Chaskay for supposedly winning over a married white woman's heart. Scholars will forever speculate, but we'll never know. Chaskay may not be the only innocent man to die either. Although meeting death bravely, many of the other condemned maintained their innocence. Sure, the trials Lincoln reviewed found them guilty of rape or massacre, but how fair were these rushed five-man military commission trials? Many say if they had really massacred whites, they wouldn't have surrendered. They'd have taken off with Little Crow. Meanwhile, Lincoln commutes yet another sentence on December 23rd

because of new details brought to him, lowering the total execution number to 38. It's hard not to wonder then, how many of these men are guilty of war crimes and how many are innocent. One condemned Dakota, Rattling Runner, writes the following letter to his father-in-law, Wabasha. You have deceived me.

You told me that if we followed the advice of General Sibley and gave ourselves up to the whites, all would be well. No innocent man would be injured. I have not killed, wounded, or injured a white man or any white persons. I have not participated in the plunder of their property. And yet, today I am set apart for execution

and must die in a few days, while men who are guilty will remain in prison. My wife is your daughter. My children are your grandchildren. I leave them all in your care and under your protection. Do not let them suffer. And when my children are grown up, let them know that their father died because he followed the advice of his chief

and without having the blood of a white man to answer for to the Great Spirit. My wife and children are dear to me. Let them not grieve for me. Let them remember that the brave should be prepared to meet death, and I will do as becomes a Dakota. It's December 26th, 1862, 7.30 a.m. Soldiers replace the manacles on the 38 condemned Dakota's wrists with ropes. There are prayers, goodbyes.

As the Dakota value bravery, these men would prefer to meet death unhooded. That won't happen. White hoods are placed over all their heads. Here in Mankato, a wooden gallows has been built especially for them. The US military forms a square around it while throngs of settlers who've come to watch stand further beyond. The Dakota men march out with perfect composure, most seeing what is believed to be a death hymn as they ascend the wooden stairs.

One uses the moment to try to upset the white audience by loudly recounting the gruesome details of a mutilated settler's body. On the third beat, the rope is cut and 38 Dakota men fall, holding hands as the spectators cheer. Their necks don't snap, or at least not all the way, the strangling Dakotas kick and flail for several minutes. as the spectators cheer. Their necks don't snap, or at least not all the way. The strangling Dakotas kick and flail for several minutes. Their bodies are cut down after 20 minutes. Transported by army wagons to the edge of town, they're buried in two rows

in a four-foot deep mass grave. But they won't rest long. That very night, the grave is dug up and desecrated. This is the 19th century, and cadavers are in high demand, as doctors study them to learn and teach anatomy. Often, this means procuring bodies through less than savory means. It can even drive murder. Over in Scotland, William Burke and William Hare famously murdered 16 people three decades back just to sell the bodies as cadavers. So, in that same line of thinking, the medical community

descends on the mass grave of the 38 Dakota men that night. This includes one English immigrant, Dr. William W. Mayo. He exumes the body of Cud Nose. Two years later, William Mayo will found a practice in Rochester, Minnesota. Eventually, it will become the world-famous Mayo Clinic. And after the doctors, others desecrate the graves too. Relieving Chaskay guilty of killing his friend, George Gleason, John Meagher finds his body and cuts a lock of hair, possibly scalping him. He'll use Chaskay's hair as a pocket watch chain for years to come. It would be hard to exaggerate the war's negative effect on the Dakota people, or the different prisms through which they and the white settlers interpret it.

Let's tackle these one at a time. I'll start with the white settlers, or the 19th century United States view. For them, the Dakota War wasn't war. It was an uprising. A rebellion. A massacre of white settlers. Seen as an unprovoked attack that started with the killing of five settlers on August 17, 1862, it was also cause to drive Minnesota's indigenous peoples from the state. When Lincoln was still deciding what to do with the 303 condemned Dakotas, it was also caused to drive Minnesota's indigenous peoples from the state.

When Lincoln was still deciding what to do with the 303 condemned Dakotas, Governor Alexander Ramsey told Lincoln, "...whites will not tolerate their Indian presence, in any number or in any condition." That attitude is reflected in the fact that Lincoln's clemency came with a political cost. Republican power diminished in Minnesota's 1864 election. Alexander Ramsey told Lincoln that more executions would have prevented the GOP's slip in numbers. If you had hung more Indians, we should have given you your old majority. The high-pitched president's response was unequivocal. I could not afford to hang men for votes. But the Dakota don't see this as an uprising. For them, the killing of the five settlers on August 17, 1862 was well-deserved

retribution for decades of deprivations and broken treaties. It was war. And in losing this war, they felt the impact severely. First, we have the legacy of the 38-executed Dakota. It's the largest mass execution ever carried out by the United States in a single day. Its lone contender for that macabre title is the U.S. military's Mexican-American War execution of St. Patrick's Battalion. This execution included 50 men over the course of a few days, with a peak of 30 going to the gallows together on September 13, 1847. All things you might recall from episode 36. I only mention this because you may hear either of these executions be called the largest in U.S. history,

and depending on your criteria, either is right. But I suggest we not go down a semantics wormhole. Fact is, both were enormous, and just as 21st century Mexico and Ireland still remember their 50 executed patties, so the Dakota people remember their 38. Nor will the Dakota forget that their ancestors were tried in a swift five-man commission court and without legal counsel.

So even as Lincoln spared the lives of 264, there's ample room to seriously question the honesty and legitimacy of the court records on which his decision to permit 38 executions had to rely. If nothing else, the example of our friend Chaskay gives strong evidence of that. Next, let's consider what happens to the Dakota people as a whole. In April 1863, Congress revokes all treaties between the Dakota and the U.S. and permits them to be driven from Minnesota. This is further encouraged

with bounties on Dakota heads. When Nathan Lampson kills Little Crow on July 3rd, 1863, he receives $500. This is a particularly large bounty because Little Crow is seen by the settlers as the aggressor. For them, he isn't a brave leader and diplomat,

tired of broken treaties between his sovereign nation and the United States, but the mastermind of an uprising and massacre that took the lives of their friends, families, and children. Settlers feel similarly when Little Six and Medicine Bottle are hanged to death in 1865. Meanwhile, 1,600 Dakotas, not just the soldiers, but women and children, are imprisoned on Pike Island. And is this an internment camp? Or do we dare call it a concentration camp? That will all depend on who you are talking to. Finally, nearly all the Dakota are exiled from Minnesota. Thousands end up in Canada or other states.

Many will die of exposure and hunger as they march. This is yet another sad and dark chapter of mid-19th century America, and its impact is felt to this day and will never be forgotten. But I can tell you at least that, after 150 years, there is some healing happening. Little Crow's remains, which were desecrated and put on display,

had been returned to his people for proper burial. The state of Minnesota and various Dakota communities made 1987 the year of reconciliation. In 1998, the Mayo Clinic returned the skull of Kutno's that its founder had taken from the grave a century and a half earlier. Then in 2018, the Mayo Clinic established a scholarship for Dakotans and perhaps did the most meaningful thing any of us can do when we realize there's wrong to be righted.

Its leaders apologized. But we can't get too comfortable here. Next time, we'll meet Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse as they and several combined tribes throw down with the U.S. military, led by a Civil War vet by the name of George Armstrong Custer. HTDS is supported by premium membership fans. You can join by clicking the link in the episode description. My gratitude to you kind souls providing additional funding to help us keep going.

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